


Sounds Like Hallelujah (For The First Time)

by Grand Buzz (quodpersortem)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2014-08-28
Packaged: 2018-02-15 04:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2214969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quodpersortem/pseuds/Grand%20Buzz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry hasn't had a lot of opportunities to see live bands, so when <i>The Rogue</i> comes to play at his school he jumps at the chance to go see them.</p><p>What he doesn't expect is that the lead singer takes a  little special interest in him. Not that he minds, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sounds Like Hallelujah (For The First Time)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [embro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/embro/gifts).



> Title was taken from [Sounds Like Hallelujah](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnUUgy0zPkM) by The Head And The Heart ~~because I'm lazy as always and stealing titles shamelessly~~.

Harry’s in the front row.

There are several other boys pushing at him to get closer to the stage but he spreads his legs a little and tries to stay in place because he was in earlier than anyone else and he's not going to give away his prime place.

He’s right in front of the microphone, too, just on the other side from where he usually is.

His school doesn’t usually allow bands from the outside to play a gig, but because White Eskimo is the only school band at the moment and Ed’s been on vocal rest for a while, the school board made an exception for once.

So, maybe _the Rogue_ isn’t a famous band—not a band anyone in school had heard of, including Harry himself—but it’s going to be live music. Living at an expensive boarding school means that he hasn’t had a lot of time to go to concerts so he’s definitely _extra_ excited now. Probably more nervous than he is when he has to go on-stage himself.

The room’s a little stuffy already by the time the lights dim, and there’s no proper introduction from the band like Harry always does—just a boy sitting down behind the drum kit, tapping out a quick rhythm before he turns his head and shouts something.

Something falls over backstage, Harry thinks, and then someone else shouts too so he gets a bit worried, but then three more boys all but tumble onto the stage and Harry is secretly pleased—happy about them all being boys. Not that he’d expected his stuffy school to send out a group of pretty girls, with all the raging boy hormones in the room, but it’s nice still.

Nicer even, when the light flickers on with a little trouble and the singer is right in front of him, a guitar slung around his neck. He’s got on tight trousers and smirks at the crowd, blue eyes glittering at just a metre’s distance from where Harry’s standing.

His shirt is tight too, black and simple with a Vans print on it, and it ruts up a little to show skin when he lifts his guitar as he says in the mic, “This is the Rogue, first up we’re playing a cover of a song by the Fray!”

Harry claps, glad to be eased into the messy garage-rock style of playing with a song he knows.

It’s only then that he realises he’s been staring at the boy, who can’t be much more than two years older than him. He has to be over eighteen, because he has plenty of tattoos on his arms, and Harry’s pretty sure that no school or parents would allow that sooner.

He would get kicked out of school if he got some, in any case.

Harry drags his eyes along the rest of the boys—a disturbingly good looking boy is on bass guitar, although maybe it’s just because he’s hidden half in the shadows, a blond haired boy plays lead guitar, and Harry thinks that he recognises the him as a friend of a friend that he’s seen at a party, while the boy behind the drums is mostly... muscular.

Which is when Harry is distracted by the singer again.

It’s easiest to look at him anyway, because it helps Harry ignore the way his heart has started to beat much faster because it doesn’t feel like he’s getting a panic attack. He only feels like grinning, putting his arms up and singing along.

That’s when the boy’s eyes catch Harry’s own and linger too long.

Harry loses his breath for a moment, and then the boy smirks, and there’s no doubt he keeps looking at Harry even as they count down to the next song—one of their own.

He even _winks_ at Harry.

-

The lead singer/guitarist keeps up the winking during the gig which means it’s impossible for Harry to look away from him.

It also makes him feel all kinds of flustered, to the moment that Ed elbows him and looks at him pointedly but Harry doesn’t know what to say to that.

When the gig is over, and Louis thanks the audience, he bows to them before smirking at Harry one last time and leaving the stage.

Somehow, that’s a little disappointing. Harry’s not sure what more he _had_ expected, but it was nice to have some sort of attention from a boy, especially when most boys in his school aren’t even aware of his sexuality. Something about a stuffy rule or two that could get him punished severely—if not by a few of the stricter teachers then his peers going to the school, the school counsellor had said.

It’s stupid, one of the most ridiculous rules of the school, but Harry’s going to be out of here in a year and a half anyway. He can’t wait for his A-levels.

The audience is slowly displacing itself, moving from the stage to the tables with drinks, but Harry can’t bring himself to move quite yet.

Ed stays with him for a while, but gives up after five or ten minutes and tells Harry, “I’ll see you later, okay?”

Harry nods, staring up at the stage when someone taps his shoulder.

For a moment he hopes it’s the singer—but he’s not disappointed when it’s the band’s drummer. “Hey,” he smiles, and the boy smiles back at him.

“Hi,” the drummer smiles kindly. “I’m Liam, I was—up there,” he points at the stage, and Harry nods. Best not to let his disappointment show too much.

“You were good,” he smiles, and Liam breaks out in a grin.

“I didn’t know you’d seen me at all, you kept staring at Louis.”

Harry flushes bright red, but at least he now knows the singer’s name. _Louis_. He’s not quite sure how to answer Liam either because it’s all true.

“He wants to see you,” Liam smirks when he sees Harry’s discomfort. “You wanna come backstage?”

“Am I allowed?” he asks, even though he’s pretty sure there won’t be any teachers keeping him from going there. The instruments his band uses are back there, if anything he could—

“Don’t worry,” Liam tells him, a firm hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Okay,” Harry nods. “I’ll come.”

Which is how he ends up trailing after Liam, butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he tries to keep himself from smiling too wide.

-

Liam opens the door to the dressing room, and as Harry steps in he’s assaulted with the smell of sweaty boys.

He can’t say he minds too much, not when Louis is lounging on the couch, laughing at something the blonde boy is animatedly talking about.

“Guys, this is Harry,” Liam waves his hand around the room and all three boys look up at him.

The blonde boy steps forward, shaking his hand. “Hi, ’m Niall. Do you know where I can get something to eat or drink?”

“Oh,” Harry frowns, because he’s not sure. The kitchens must be closed by now, though. “Maybe in the auditorium. And otherwise—find a teacher?”

He’s still a little nervous, so he wipes his hands off his jeans as he walks to the couch where Louis is patting his hand on the free place.

“I’m Louis,” he says, and he’s immediately a little too close to Harry, the smell of beer on his breath.

“I know,” he mumbles, “Liam said. Uh, I’m Harry.”

“I know, Liam said,” Louis smirks. “So, that bloke over there’s Zayn but he’s going for moody instead of mysterious tonight which means he’s not gonna say too much.”

“Piss off, Lou,” Zayn snaps at him, and Harry looks away from the boy he’d dubbed _pretty bass-guitarist_ earlier on. He’s definitely as good looking in full light too, though. If not more.

“Nah thanks, I like it here,” Louis quips back. “Maybe you and Liam can find some free loos somewhere, though. Or, hey, some room by a bloke who’s left it unlocked!”

Liam rolls his eyes and tells Louis, “We’re going to find Niall, behave yourself.”

The moment that the door shuts behind the two boys, though, Louis turns to Harry and tells him, “I’m sorry, they are idiots.”

“They seemed nice,” Harry tells Louis because they _had_.

“They have to go find Niall because wherever Niall goes, he manages to find alcohol, and usually he also manages to drink all of it.” Louis is frowning but there’s laughter in his voice. “Ended up vomiting in the van last time, so we had to throw out the carpet.”

“Uh, I’m sorry about that,” Harry says.

“You’re a bit stuck up, aren’t you? All posh and—intimidated.” Louis strokes his hand along Harry’s jaw and if Harry hadn’t been red before then he certainly is now.

“I’m—I’m not _stuck up_ ,” Harry protests. “Just nervous. And you’re—you _are_ pretty intimidating.”

“Is it the tattoos?” Louis smirks, stretching out his arms. “Do you like them?”

Harry shrugs and blushes as he looks at his own hands, because it’s not the tattoos as much as Louis giving him a lot of attention. And Louis being _very_ attractive. In fact, he’s fairly sure he can _feel_ Louis’ eyes on him, and not just on his face either.

“We had to change some of the lyrics, you know,” Louis blusters on, filling the awkward silence. That does get his attention.

“Why?”

“Because the—the school board wasn’t so happy with us playing songs that are clearly gay,” Louis tells him. He raises his eyebrows as if he dares Harry to say something, but Harry only nods.

“They would say that, yes,” he agrees. And then, because he doesn’t want to be this intimidated by Louis, “Can you—can you tell me what the actual lyrics are, then? To your songs?”

“You want me to serenade you?” Louis winks, and Harry groans because it’s all a bit much. “Sorry,” Louis laughs. “I mean, sure, I can.”

He sits up on his knees and leans over the back of the couch—giving Harry a very nice view of his bum. Harry may stare a little, but he supposes—Louis wouldn’t mind. Although saying _you have a nice bum_ might be a little bit weird.

When Louis settles back with the guitar in his lap he seems to calm down a little, though. Gone are the smirks and quips about dating, and instead he looks much softer and _nicer,_ in a way.

Harry wonders how soon you can decide you’re in love with someone, because he just might be, a little.

When Louis starts singing, it’s quieter too. A bit higher pitched than the voice he’d used on-stage as well but Harry doesn’t mind.

Most of the lyrics are only _she_ ’s replaced with _he_ ’s and a couple of _love_ ’s that are suddenly _cock_ and—Harry thinks it shouldn’t make this much of a difference, the single word, but it _does_.

Louis is singing directly at him, still, but contrary to before it’s like his words come straight from his heart and it’s so nice, so liberating to hear another boy sing about boys. It makes Harry feel better about himself.

And as for Louis—he’s still not winking, just looking straight at Harry as he’s singing “He’s all I want, so much it’s hurting” and as he hits the strings forcefully one last time, he leans over his instrument and quietly adds, “You’re all I want, so much it’s hurting.”

It should be sexual, and it’s not, Louis’ voice instead scratchy and gentle and it makes Harry shiver a little.

Okay, so maybe it gets him a little hot as well.

Louis hasn’t moved the guitar yet, still looking at Harry as though he’s waiting for Harry’s judgement.

“That was wonderful,” he tells Louis truthfully, and he’s surprised his voice’s still working. “I—that was great.”

“I thought you might say that,” Louis nods, and it’s as if he knows exactly how Harry feels right now. Harry wouldn’t be surprised if Louis has had pretty boys sing for him—to him before as well.

“I’m sorry the school wouldn’t let you sing the songs like that.” And Harry is, and he’s a little sorry for himself too, for the first time in his life. His mum and Robin and Gems know about him being gay of course, and so do Ed and some of the others and probably most of the teachers, but now he’s thinking about what it would be like to kiss the person he’d like to kiss when they go into town to meet with their friends.

“I’m sorry too,” Louis says, his lips momentarily pulled tight to let Harry know he’s not talking about the lyric changes.

Harry watches as Louis puts the guitar away, and when he settles back down it’s with his thigh pressed against Harry’s, his arm going around Harry’s shoulder. The butterflies are back, but in a good way.

“So,” Louis says quietly, “Um.” His fingers are touching Harry’s hair and it’s a little distracting. “Do—Can I kiss you?”

And Harry knew that Louis wanted to, even back before they knew each other’s names, and Louis has to be twenty at least and he has tattoos and he looks so self-assured on stage so Harry hadn’t figured he’d be _asked_ beforehand; had thought Louis would simply _go_ for it.

It renders him speechless, the question, and he tries to get himself to nod.

He must take too long, because Louis’ hand is off his knee all of a sudden and the gentle caress of fingers against his scalp has stopped and Harry knows he must be staring at Louis with wide eyes right now as he tries to get his voice to work.

“ _Please?”_ Louis says, and he looks vulnerable now, two years younger all of a sudden with all of his bravado stripped away. And it’s not that Louis is begging, it’s more like he’s trying to be polite and failing miserably.

Because he’s nervous—Harry can suddenly see it, Louis’ eyes have gone wide as well, his fingers are shaking a little where they’re now resting in his own lap; the place his hand had been resting on Harry’s leg has gone a little damp.

It’s enough for Harry to find his voice back, mutter, “Yes,” with a smile.

Louis breaks out in a grin, releasing his breath like he’d been watching a scary film.

“You’re—“ he starts to say, and then smiles wider as he shakes his head. “I’ll kiss you now.”

“Yes, please kiss me now,” Harry nods, laughter bubbling up from his stomach. His fringe falls into his face and Louis snorts, so he moves to push it back up—

But then Louis’ hand is already there, pushing back the hair and following with a kiss that’s softer, much softer than Harry’d anticipated.

He falls into it easily, kissing Louis back, and it doesn’t feel strange at all. It doesn’t even feel like a revelation, not even like _now I’m sure I’m gay_ because he’d been sure of that before, but it feels right and it feels good and it feels like something he’d like a lot more of.

 Preferably with Louis.


End file.
